Full Candidate Statements
A Vision for KPFA

Warren Mar • Sherry Gendelman  • John Van Eyck
Antonio Medrano • Matthew "Dynamite" Hallinan
Susan McDonough • Paul Robins • Dianne Enriquez

Warren Mar Candidate Statement

My name is Warren Mar, and I’m running for KPFA’s Local Station Board to strengthen this radical, independent station. I’m also part of the Concerned Listeners for KPFA slate. Visit concernedlisteners.org to learn more about our platform and endorsers.
I’m currently a faculty member at City College of San Francisco in the Labor and Community Studies department, but I’ve been organizing for social and economic justice for over 35 years – starting as a tenant and community organizer where I grew up in San Francisco’s Chinatown. I moved on to do labor organizing with immigrants in hotels and restaurants and nurses in hospitals. When the AFL-CIO moved in a more progressive direction in the mid 90’s I joined the Organizing Institute to recruit and train new organizers. My activism did not start on a college campus. It started in the pool halls and tenement hotels of San Francisco’s Chinatown. I got my first union job right after high school at the phone company, where I became active in my first strike, and met other Asian American leftists fighting both the bosses and union bureaucrats.
Being a worker meant that I had to struggle with a poor education and have had to catch up with knowledge that intellectuals take for granted. In the movements of the late 60’s and 70’s I began to learn the root causes of oppression and injustice. KPFA, and other alternative media, were a key part of that education. I returned to college at the age of 38, went to graduate school at 40, and now I teach college students classes I hope will inform their activism. I want KPFA to do the same.
Now more than ever we need to reach working-class people in America with alternative explanations of why there’s so much injustice, poverty and war. To do this we need a stronger KPFA that embraces new audiences while maintaining its tradition of radical independence. Please vote for the Concerned Listeners slate so we can further KPFA’s mission, and educate in support of a broad-based movement for social change.
Endorsements: Eric Mar (no relation), SF School Board Member; Tim Paulson, Exec. Sec. Treasurer, SF Labor Council; Renee Saucedo, Exec. Director, SF Day Laborers; Mike Casey, President, UNITEHERE Local 2; Peter Olney, Organizing Director, International Longshore Union

Sherry Gendelman Candidate Statement

My name is Sherry Gendelman, and I'm seeking re-election to KPFA's Local Station Board because I want to help KPFA thrive.
I have been a life long activist for social justice beginning with the Civil Rights movement to the present day. In the past, I was District Counsel for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission; Executive Director of the San Francisco Gray Panthers, and have worked with a variety of policital and social movments including Central American peace work and neighborhood arts projects. Currently, my law practice focuses on working people, immigrant communities, and teaching classes around the Bay Area informing people of their constitutional rights and how defend themselves in court.
I appreciate the importance of our radio station as a forum for ideas and voices we rarely hear from in the mainstream media. Through my years of political activism, I came to know, and rely upon, KPFA. It was the venue that presented the issues, and the culture, that were important to me and which enriched my life.
I've been directly involved with KPFA for a long time: I was Chair of the KPFA Local Advisory Board in the late 1990s when many on the Pacifica National Board attempted to hijack that Board away from the Pacifica Mission. I was a lead plaintiff in one of the lawsuits that eventually ousted the renegade board. After that battle I stepped aside to let others participate. But I decided to participate again, and have been a member of the Station Board since 2004.
There is much work to be done to make our station, and the Pacifica network, a more powerful voice for peace, justice, and cultural expression. There's much work to reach out to new audiences. But we're headed in the right direction: KPFA has attracted new generations of programmers who can relate to emerging communities in the Bay Area, and across the country and globe. New technologies have provided us the opportunity to grow audiences outside our signal area. KPFA must continue to expand its work as venue for alternative views of how this world really works and how it can be a better place.
In the last few months I have heard the station revitalized with new ideas, new programmers, and new internet ventures. As Board members I believe our job is to strengthen the station, contribute ideas, and to support progressive, talented and competent voices on and off the air. I have the experience to contribute to a successful KPFA: In addition to my time on KPFA's Boards, I've served as Executive Director of the Gray Panthers, as a board member of Friends of KALW, as a founding member of the San Francisco Farmer's Market in the Tenderloin, and, currently, the governing board of the Middle East Children's Alliance (MECA). I have taught a course in civics and constitutional rights for the San Francisco Superior Court for 3 years.
I'm running as part of a slate dedicated to strengthening and expanding KPFA, and bringing civility to its board meetings. Read more about our platform and endorsers at concernedlisteners.org
Endorsed By: Osha Neumann, Civil Rights Activist , Attorney and Educator; Matthew Lasar, Pacifica Historian; Bob Meyer, Program Chair, the Ruth Group; Sharon Wood, filmmaker, Director of "KPFA On The Air"; Anthony “Tony” Gonzalez, AIM, West Coast; James Quesada, Ph. D. Chair, Dept. of Anthropoloy, SF State; Author, Human Rights Worker"; Bonnie Borenstein, Ph. D, Professor of Mass Media and Communications, College Of Marin; Robert Amparan, Criminal defense attorney.

John Van Eyck Candidate Statement

My name is John Van Eyck and I am running for the Local Station Board as a member of Concerned Listeners for KPFA slate. We have a pressing need for independent media in these times of war without end abroad and war against the constitution at home. KPFA gives voice to the people who are fighting back -- a unique resource for progressives in all communities.
I have been a listener of KPFA since moving to Berkeley two decades ago. I regularly use the knowledge I gain because of the fine work of the KPFA staff. KPFA informs my own work among local trade union workers who I trained and represent. We all remember when this priceless resource went silent. I want to help assure that never happens again.
During 30+ years as a union representative much of my time was spent as the Senior Staff Director of medium sized unions the Arts, Entertainment and Media Industry. One of my principal roles was to work with the boards of those unions. Sometimes I was an elected board member, other times I was employed by the board. I understand the roles of board and staff. The KPFA Board must quickly move to hire a General Manager and Program Director and while guiding their progress, refrain from micro-managing the station.
To be effective the board must comprise individuals who have experience in setting aside political differences, personal egos and pet projects and a commitment to reaching consensus. Board dynamics can be improved by keeping the KPFA mission statement before us in everything we do.
I am committed to doing my best to build the listener base in all communities of the Bay Area, to building the station into the lives of communities of color and working class communities, to seek funding in new ways, to help KPFA realize its mission of supporting and promoting social justice for all, to keeping the station responsive to new technology and to treating other Board members with respect. We’re coming out of a dark, dark period of crisis for Pacifica and KPFA. It is the time for people of principle to work together forging a vision of unity which best helps our station represent the voice of struggle in our diverse communities.
In addition to the endorsers of our slate I am personally endorsed by the following: Michael Eisenscher, Coordinator, Bay Area Labor Committee for Peace and Justice; Jon Fromer, Freedom Song Network, Shop Steward NABET/CWA Local 51; Mary Fromer, Trade Union Organizer, SEIU, Retired; Ann Fagan Ginger, Meiklejohn Civil Liberties Institute; Nick Jones, Former National Boycott Director, United Farm Workers; Nancy Polin, Vukani Mawethu Choir, Freedom Songs of South Africa

Antonio Medrano Candidate Statement

I am a retired community college/high school teacher. 40 years in the classroom. A long time community activist in human rights, immigrant rights, solidarity activist. Numerous fact finding missions to Central America (Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala and southern Mexico).
Active in Contra Costa County with Immigrant Task Force, Chair of the Citizen Bond Oversight Committee for the West County School District, Co-Chair of the Concilio Latino, Educator's Network of Amnesty International (served on the national board for 5 years).
In Jan of 2007 was part of the "Comision Civil Internacional por Los Derechos Humanos en Oaxaca, Mexico". This international commissiion looked into the abuses that occured in Oaxaca during the final months of 2006. One of only two U.S. reps (the other was Renee Saucedo of the Centro Legal de La Raza. S.F.).
Did workshops in Mexico ( for five years)on Human Rights and Education at three sites (Queretaro, Mexico City and Puebla). At Puebla was the only U.S. presenter at the "Coloquio Internacional de Educacion en Derechos Humanos". .
I also do workshops on Human Rights and Education for teachers and students in the S.F. Bay Area and often out of the state. I am presently doing tenant organizing for Faith Works, Social Justice center in Richmond, Ca,
I'm running as part of a slate dedicated to strengthening and expanding KPFA, and bring civility to its board meetings. Read more about us at concernedlisteners.org
Endorsed by: Mike Casey, President of HERE, Local 2; Tim Paulsen, Executive Sect. Treas. SF CLC; Sharon Comu, Executive Sect. Treas. Alameda CLC; Tho Thi Do, Organizing Director, No. Cal.,UNITE-HERE; Peter Olney, Organizing Director, ILWU International; Cecilia Jarequi, CCISCO organizer; Scott Brown, Public Employees Union, Local 1; Ramon Cardona, Centro Latino Cuzcatlan; Juan Reardon, Richmond Greens; Orlando Ramos, Educator; Sandra Gutierrez, community Activist; Maria Alegria, Mayor, Pinole, Pres. League of Calif. Cities, Latino Caucus; Genoveva Garcia Calloway, Concilio Latino, member San Pablo City Council; Leonard Mc Neil: Director, West County Heal Project, member San Pablo City Council; Betty Brown, East Bay Peace Action; Carolina Garcia, Youth organizar, CCISCO; Wendy Gonzales, Teacher (UTR), community activist; Maria Rivera, Immigrant Task Force, Attorney; Renee Saucedo, Attorney, Centro Legal de La Raza, S.F.; John Marquez: Member Richmond City Council, Concilio Latino; Andres Soto, Alameda County, Violence Prevention Coordinator

Matthew Hallinan Candidate Statement

KPFA -We Can Do Better
My name is Matthew Hallinan and I'm running for the Local Station Board as a member if Concerned listeners for KPFA slate. I want to see KPFA become a major beacon of progressive thought and culture.
I have seen America go through a lot of changes. I grew up in a leftist family during the Mc Carthy Era. I became an activist and an organizer during the 1960's and 1970's, saw an old, white, conservative power structure give ground to a new generation armed with a different vision. And then I saw this country elect Ronald Reagan and begin to systematically dismantle the gains we had made during 1960's.
We progressives complained and wrung our hands. But it took the Bush Administration to really shake us up. A frightening cabal of right-wing foundations and think tanks pulled together an un-Holy Alliance of Wall Street, the Christian Right, the White Southern Establishment, Neo-conservative intellectuals, and old-line Republican libertarians. United by the common goal of redistributing more wealth to the rich, they began to lay out a strategy of perpetual war and Imperial expansion. In the name of a War against Terror, they launched an all-out assault on our constitutional liberties. They sought to blur the lines between Church and State, create an Imperial Presidency, undermine democratic checks and balances, and turn America into a nightmare for all but the wealthiest.
In 2003, I decided it was not enough for progressives to simply complain to each other and let Fox News and right wing Talk- Radio talk to the people. At that point, a number of us formed the Wellstone Democratic political stranglehold of the Republicans. Our club registered 2/3rds of all new Democratic voters in Alameda County, raised $270,000 for ACT, and played a major role in the victory of Congressman Jerry McNerney over right-winger Richard Pombo.
The pendulum is beginning to swing back in our direction. The disaster in Iraq and the growing hardships of working people have opened up a lot of minds. Conservative policies have failed and people are looking for new approaches. This is an important time for KPFA. I want to see this station grow from a progressive voice that speaks mainly to the left into a beacon that can reach all those who are looking for new ideas.
We need to get KPFA up to speed: modernize its equipment, encourage the highest standards of quality and professionalism, and provide programs that are a 'must hear.' We have to get past the self destructive infighting and sectarian squabbles that have dogged this station and are the bane of the left. Northern California has the largest and most diverse progressive community in the whole country. We have a talented and dedicated staff and a hard-working volunteer crew. If we can take a card from the conservatives and learn to pull together, we can make this station a factor in pushing the political pendulum back to the left.
Endorsers: Mal Burnstein- Co-chair, Progressive Caucus, California Democratic Party; Mayme Hubert- Co-chair, Progressive Caucus, California Democratic Party; Jerry Fillingin - Political Organizer, SEIU 1021; Vicki Cosgrove- Co-founder Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club; Reese Erlick- Journalist and Reporter

Susan McDonough Candidate Statement

My name is Susan McDonough. I’m running for KPFA’s Local Station Board as part of a slate – Concerned Listeners – dedicated to strengthening and expanding KPFA, and bringing civility to its board meetings. Read more about our slate and platform at concernedlisteners.org
A lifelong activist, I’ve relied on KPFA to get the straight scoop since I discovered it in the 1970’s. And I think I have the experience it takes to give back to KPFA as a member of its board. I’ve been a union organizer for close to 20 years: 7 in the rank and file at various hospitals, fighting with our union leadership almost as much as the bosses, and 10 years as a staff organizer. Currently I’m working for the Alameda County Central Labor Council on campaigns like the Garbage Lock Out hardship committee. As an organizer, I’m good at bringing many different kinds of people together to accomplish common goals—like expanding KPFA’s reach, furthering the mission of its founders, and planning for its future.
In between my organizing jobs, I worked as a fundraiser and later as program director for the Committee for Health Rights in Central America (CHRICA). During the U.S.- sponsored wars in that region we sent hundreds of health workers and professionals, along with millions of dollars of medical aid. We also conducted international health symposia in Nicaragua, and educated U.S. communities about the wars our government was sponsoring. As a fundraiser, I am eager to work with other board members to expand KPFA’s financial base. Please vote for me – Susan McDonough – for the Local Station Board.
I am pleased to be endorsed by (partial list; all organizations for ID purposes only): Sharon Cornu, Executive Secretary-Treasurer, Alameda County Labor Council; Amaha Kassa, Executive Director, East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy (EBASE); Reese Erlich, journalist and author; Joe Navarro, poet and Chicano activist; Pam Tau Lee, Labor Occupational Health Project; Bill Harvey, Sec retary Treasurer, CWA 9415

Paul Robins Candidate Statement

My name is Paul Robins and I am running for the KPFA Local Station Board on the Concerned Listeners Slate. For 25 years, off and on, I have worked or volunteered at KPFA. I have worked in the phone room, written the news, engineered music shows, and managed the database. During the struggle to save KPFA I was in the streets in Berkeley.
I did these things while living on the Peninsula and working in the South Bay, which I continue today. There is a strong, active, supportive community of listeners and subscribers here that has had no or little representation of its interests in station governance. I want to help change this.
KPFA continues to be the greatest of media we have for activating peace, justice and equality, and for cultural, artistic and social diversity. It is a complex tool in a complex world beset by war, violence, poverty and the homogenization and/or eradication of cultures. As a board member my number one job is to help the Station survive and succeed in its mission.
I look forward to working collaboratively with KPFA’s staff and board members to do the following:
Increase outreach to the current listening community, especially on the Peninsula and in the South Bay.
Increase outreach to underserved communities, especially on the Peninsula and in the South Bay, who don’t necessarily know about KPFA yet.
Support the enrichment and renewal of KPFA’s programming to reflect the diverse cultures and perspectives of our community.
Develop a more reliable funding base for the station so that it does not just stagger from one fund drive to the next and can plan for the future.
Over the years I have become active in additional ways. I am a longtime volunteer with the Zen Hospice Project, sitting with the dying at Laguna Honda Hospital hospice ward in San Francisco. For me today, being active means being of service and includes a quality of stillness and of heart that can greatly benefit KPFA’s board.
For more than 30 years KPFA has been my lifeline, a source of information and music that I never would have heard anywhere else. I am so thankful. I want it to thrive.
I am running as part of the Concerned Listeners slate, a group dedicated to protecting and expanding KPFA. Read more about our platform and endorsements at concernedlisteners.org.
Endorsers: Eric Poché, Director of Volunteer Programs at the Zen Hospice Project; Ginny Anderson PhD, author of “Circling San Francisco Bay”; Paul Feder MD, Kaiser Permanente Pediatrician

Dianne Enriquez Candidate Statement

I am Dianne Enriquez. I am 24 years old and I’ve been an avid listener of KPFA since I moved to the Bay Area seven years ago. Currently, I work for Young Workers United, a groundbreaking effort to organize and support young and immigrant workers in the service industry, and to raise restaurant industry standards across the board. We have worked to raise the minimum wage in San Francisco to $9.14 an hour, and we helped San Francisco pass the only law in the country guaranteeing paid sick days for all workers.
Previously, I participated in the Apprentice program at KPFA, where I was learned the inner workings of the station and came to appreciate the skill, ingenuity, and dedication necessary to bring us the quality programming that we, as listeners, have grown accustomed to. I also have other radio experience: In 2005, I worked as an assistant programming manager for Contact 88.1 radio in Hamilton, New Zealand, and I co-hosted a world music show for the Hamilton Community Radio Station. In 2006, I graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in Ethnic Studies; during my studies, I helped coordinate an Ethnic Studies Program at Pittsburg High School to teach young people of color history relevant to their own perspectives. I have also helped recruit Latino Youth to pursue higher education at UC Berkeley.
Radio is my first Love. It is without a doubt one of the most crucial technologies of our era. It facilitates the exchange of ideas, provides an outlet for creativity, and is a medium for the pioneering spirit. And for me, no station embodies this spirit more than KPFA. KPFA is a true pioneer in every sense. It provides a platform for progressive voices whose views are rarely expressed anywhere else. It also showcases local art, music and cultures. As a community radio station, it is imperative that KPFA reach out to new communities to keep the station fresh and relevant. It is for this reason that I am running for the KPFA Local Station Board. I believe that my perspective a young queer woman of color, and my experience as an as an activist and organizer, can help move KPFA forward.
I am proud to be running as part of a slate of candidates dedicated to broadening KPFA’s reach and strengthening its ties to the communities it serves.
Read more about us at concernedlisteners.org.
Endorsed By: Mike Casey: President of UNITE HERE, Local 2; Tim Paulsen: Executive Sect. Treas., San Francisco Labor Council; Sonya Mehta: Director, Young Workers United, San Francisco: Tho Thi Do: Organizing Director, Northern . California, UNITE-HERE: Renee Saucedo: Director, Day Laborers Program, San Francisco